Electric parking brake

This Forum is the main messageboard to discuss all things Claret and Blue and beyond
Post Reply
Terrier
Posts: 764
Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2016 3:50 pm
Been Liked: 258 times
Has Liked: 128 times

Electric parking brake

Post by Terrier » Thu Apr 03, 2025 8:52 pm

Anyone else having palpitations using one of these?

Just changed my car after 40yr of using a manual handbrake and my new car has one of these in, on hills or a car too close behind and I go into a panic with the bloody thing.
This user liked this post: HunterST_BFC

Bosscat
Posts: 28784
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2018 9:51 am
Been Liked: 9632 times
Has Liked: 20693 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by Bosscat » Thu Apr 03, 2025 8:55 pm

Terrier wrote:
Thu Apr 03, 2025 8:52 pm
Anyone else having palpitations using one of these?

Just changed my car after 40yr of using a manual handbrake and my new car has one of these in, on hills or a car too close behind and I go into a panic with the bloody thing.
Had these on my cars for a long time once you get used to them they are great.

GodIsADeeJay81
Posts: 14889
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:55 am
Been Liked: 3519 times
Has Liked: 6411 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Thu Apr 03, 2025 9:01 pm

Nah, they work fine on manual cars
Can have an issue on autos if not used enough

Tribesmen
Posts: 5639
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:15 am
Been Liked: 1292 times
Has Liked: 691 times
Location: Tibet

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by Tribesmen » Thu Apr 03, 2025 9:03 pm

Yer had one and still worry about it so I always left it in gear when I park .

dougcollins
Posts: 9139
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2016 12:23 am
Been Liked: 2371 times
Has Liked: 2342 times
Location: Yarkshire

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by dougcollins » Thu Apr 03, 2025 9:42 pm

Youre still just as reliant on cables and brakepads.

Terrier
Posts: 764
Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2016 3:50 pm
Been Liked: 258 times
Has Liked: 128 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by Terrier » Thu Apr 03, 2025 9:49 pm

It's not that I don't trust it I just can't get used to using it.

Lip
Posts: 932
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2023 2:35 pm
Been Liked: 298 times
Has Liked: 227 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by Lip » Thu Apr 03, 2025 9:57 pm

Tribesmen wrote:
Thu Apr 03, 2025 9:03 pm
Yer had one and still worry about it so I always left it in gear when I park .
Should always leave your car in gear whenever you park up.

Bosscat
Posts: 28784
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2018 9:51 am
Been Liked: 9632 times
Has Liked: 20693 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by Bosscat » Thu Apr 03, 2025 9:58 pm

Terrier wrote:
Thu Apr 03, 2025 9:49 pm
It's not that I don't trust it I just can't get used to using it.
Is it a manual or automatic... The Mrs struggled with the DS4 Manual electric Park but not on the Auto we replaced it with ...

aclaretinstevenage
Posts: 1590
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2016 9:55 pm
Been Liked: 364 times
Has Liked: 884 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by aclaretinstevenage » Thu Apr 03, 2025 9:58 pm

Does the car not have the auto hold option as well as the actual brake!p? If it has use that in lieu of the brake, my last two cars have had this and it's easier than applying the brake and releasing it all the time.

Caballo
Posts: 1235
Joined: Wed Mar 23, 2016 8:31 am
Been Liked: 459 times
Has Liked: 476 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by Caballo » Thu Apr 03, 2025 10:22 pm

The biggest issue I've found with them is if you have the auto-on selected they can 'activate' at some fairly inappropriate moments.

dougcollins
Posts: 9139
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2016 12:23 am
Been Liked: 2371 times
Has Liked: 2342 times
Location: Yarkshire

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by dougcollins » Thu Apr 03, 2025 10:31 pm

Caballo wrote:
Thu Apr 03, 2025 10:22 pm
The biggest issue I've found with them is if you have the auto-on selected they can 'activate' at some fairly inappropriate moments.
Or not disengage at some equally inappropriate moments.

Bosscat
Posts: 28784
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2018 9:51 am
Been Liked: 9632 times
Has Liked: 20693 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by Bosscat » Thu Apr 03, 2025 10:36 pm

Caballo wrote:
Thu Apr 03, 2025 10:22 pm
The biggest issue I've found with them is if you have the auto-on selected they can 'activate' at some fairly inappropriate moments.
Never had a problem with them at any time and have had them on cars since 2014 ...

tarkys_ears
Posts: 4912
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2018 11:30 pm
Been Liked: 1215 times
Has Liked: 1894 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by tarkys_ears » Fri Apr 04, 2025 12:37 am

Ive had em on both manual and automatic.

You press the brake and stop, they come on. You close the engine off, it comes on.

Unless you're needing the reflexivity of a manual handle during your many handbrake turns, i'd say stop being so old, conform and get over it.
This user liked this post: Bosscat

Tw@
Posts: 294
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 11:39 pm
Been Liked: 72 times
Has Liked: 799 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by Tw@ » Fri Apr 04, 2025 12:51 am

tarkys_ears wrote:
Fri Apr 04, 2025 12:37 am
Ive had em on both manual and automatic.

You press the brake and stop, they come on. You close the engine off, it comes on.

Unless you're needing the reflexivity of a manual handle during your many handbrake turns, i'd say stop being so old, conform and get over it.
Oh you are well cool and trendy with that response, I’d love to be as good as you one day

dsr
Posts: 16197
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 12:47 pm
Been Liked: 4855 times
Has Liked: 2580 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by dsr » Fri Apr 04, 2025 1:03 am

It sounds like it's a solution in search of a problem - which is far from unknown in modern cars. Than can be very few people who find any difficulty in using a manual handbrake.

Rain detectors on the windscreen are another pet dislike. They aren't very good. With old-fashioned off-intermittent-standard-fast wipers, there were plenty of options and I found them all easy to apply.

Quicknick
Posts: 6707
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 4:25 pm
Been Liked: 1434 times
Has Liked: 9454 times
Location: Chiang Rai, Thailand.

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by Quicknick » Fri Apr 04, 2025 6:37 am

I've got one on a can-am reverse trike. When it's parked in the garage, I leave the brake off, the assumption being that switches can only be used so many times before they fail.

wilks_bfc
Posts: 13019
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 12:33 pm
Been Liked: 3663 times
Has Liked: 2111 times
Contact:

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by wilks_bfc » Fri Apr 04, 2025 7:44 am

The only issue I have is remembering to put the manual handbrake on when driving the other car :?

BigAlClaret
Posts: 155
Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2016 3:57 pm
Been Liked: 55 times
Has Liked: 9 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by BigAlClaret » Fri Apr 04, 2025 7:45 am

I find them easy to use and too easy to get used to. I have tried to set off a few times now with the brake still on whenever I drive a car with a manual handbrake nowadays.

HunterST_BFC
Posts: 3836
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2016 10:13 pm
Been Liked: 1421 times
Has Liked: 2767 times
Location: varied

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by HunterST_BFC » Fri Apr 04, 2025 8:03 am

Makes you lazy.
There should be a Placebo Lever.

Hard to remember after a while when you drive someone elses car without

ChrisG
Posts: 1437
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 11:10 am
Been Liked: 420 times
Has Liked: 500 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by ChrisG » Fri Apr 04, 2025 8:09 am

dsr wrote:
Fri Apr 04, 2025 1:03 am
It sounds like it's a solution in search of a problem - which is far from unknown in modern cars. Than can be very few people who find any difficulty in using a manual handbrake.

Rain detectors on the windscreen are another pet dislike. They aren't very good. With old-fashioned off-intermittent-standard-fast wipers, there were plenty of options and I found them all easy to apply.
You could apply that logic forever though. Why bother with automatic gears when manual will do? Open the window instead of air con.

It's not always about solving a problem, it's about driver convenience.

Automatic headlights are another example of you don't need them as anyone can flick the switches, but I prefer them coming on by themselves.

Row x
Posts: 2027
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2024 8:51 am
Been Liked: 571 times
Has Liked: 111 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by Row x » Fri Apr 04, 2025 8:44 am

dsr wrote:
Fri Apr 04, 2025 1:03 am
It sounds like it's a solution in search of a problem - which is far from unknown in modern cars. Than can be very few people who find any difficulty in using a manual handbrake.

Rain detectors on the windscreen are another pet dislike. They aren't very good. With old-fashioned off-intermittent-standard-fast wipers, there were plenty of options and I found them all easy to apply.
Mine has the auto wipers, but you can turn it off and use them manually, same with the headlights

Leon_C
Posts: 468
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 9:58 pm
Been Liked: 155 times
Has Liked: 243 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by Leon_C » Fri Apr 04, 2025 3:33 pm

dsr wrote:
Fri Apr 04, 2025 1:03 am
It sounds like it's a solution in search of a problem - which is far from unknown in modern cars. Than can be very few people who find any difficulty in using a manual handbrake.

Rain detectors on the windscreen are another pet dislike. They aren't very good. With old-fashioned off-intermittent-standard-fast wipers, there were plenty of options and I found them all easy to apply.
Electric parking brakes make sense as they can be automatically applied.
Automatics/EVs often have them - meaning that the parking brake can be applied discretely when the car comes to a complete stop. (auto-hold.)

However... in around 2014 I once, seemingly, left my parking brake off whilst parked in a layby in Brierfield. My car rolled (uphill, as far as I can tell) into the back of another car, causing substantial (if you read the doctor's reports) injuries to the array of passengers therein. So even if you have one, beware. Receiving court papers (standard, when children are involved, I gather) isn't a nice moment.

They bring a lot of technical superiority - included self-adjustment, and reduce the risk of cable stretch (if you're into the automotive engineering side of this stuff.)

That said, I think they're a good thing overall.

Tricky Trevor
Posts: 10444
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 10:06 pm
Been Liked: 3069 times
Has Liked: 2434 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by Tricky Trevor » Fri Apr 04, 2025 4:30 pm

Difficult to do a hand brake turn, when you need one.
On hill starts mine still does a slight roll back before gripping. This can cause the turtle to emerge from his roll neck sweater, until you get used to it.

Volvoclaret
Posts: 1578
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2017 12:45 pm
Been Liked: 710 times
Has Liked: 399 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by Volvoclaret » Fri Apr 04, 2025 5:01 pm

What's a brake? 😉

dougcollins
Posts: 9139
Joined: Sat Jan 23, 2016 12:23 am
Been Liked: 2371 times
Has Liked: 2342 times
Location: Yarkshire

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by dougcollins » Fri Apr 04, 2025 5:19 pm

Volvoclaret wrote:
Fri Apr 04, 2025 5:01 pm
What's a brake? 😉
Are you sure you're not Audiclaret?
This user liked this post: Bosscat

dsr
Posts: 16197
Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2016 12:47 pm
Been Liked: 4855 times
Has Liked: 2580 times

Re: Electric parking brake

Post by dsr » Fri Apr 04, 2025 11:39 pm

Row x wrote:
Fri Apr 04, 2025 8:44 am
Mine has the auto wipers, but you can turn it off and use them manually, same with the headlights
I don't mind the headlights because they work in the same way I would. But the wipers, I can set them to fast speed or normal speed manually, but the intermittent can only be automatic. Which is a minor nuisance when it decides the windscreen doesn't need clearing when in fact it does, or when it decides the windscreen does need clearing when it's actually dry. I have never found it hard to select the intermittent setting, I don't need the technological "advance".

If it worked as well as the old system (like the auto lights do) it would be fine.

Post Reply